LABOUR is “on the way back in Scotland,” Jeremy Corbyn will insist today as he urges Theresa May and her Conservative Cabinet to pull themselves together on Brexit or get out of the way.
In his keynote speech to the Labour conference in Brighton, he will insist the party is now ready to take charge of the country, stressing how, in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy and the “degraded regime” of power it had exposed, a new type of government is urgently needed.
In an address that will contain some new policy announcements, he will also flag up the prospect of a society where people work less and have more leisure time; automation, he will claim, will be a “gateway for a new settlement between work and leisure”.
In a packed conference hall, Mr Corbyn will tell the party faithful how against all predictions, Labour in June won the largest increase in its vote since 1945, achieving its best vote for a generation.
“It’s a result, which has put the Tories on notice and Labour on the threshold of power,” he will declare.
“Yes, we didn’t do quite well enough and we remain in opposition for now. But we have become a government-in-waiting. And our message to the country could not be clearer: Labour is ready.
“Ready to tackle inequality. Ready to rebuild our NHS. Ready to give opportunity to young people, dignity and security to older people. Ready to invest in our economy and meet the challenges of climate change and automation. Ready to put peace and justice at the heart of foreign policy. And ready to build a new and progressive relationship with Europe.
“We are ready for government,” the Labour leader will insist.
Having already told delegates that he will make Scotland a priority with monthly visits, Mr Corbyn is expected to say: "Labour is on the way back in Scotland. Our message of hope, of optimism that things can change resonated in Scotland. The Scottish people understand Labour is again the champion of social justice.”
Just 24 hours after Kezia Dugdale criticised him for leading a “lazy and lacklustre” Remain campaign, Mr Corbyn will express gratitude for the work of the former Scottish Party leader.
“Thank you Kezia. The next Scottish leader will build on the solid foundations you have helped build. Our unifying socialist message will continue to inspire people north and south of the border," he will say.
On the Tories’ management of Brexit, the Labour leader will decry how Theresa May and her colleagues are more interested in posturing for personal advantage than in getting the best deal for Britain.
“Never has the national interest been so ill-served on such a vital issue. If there were no other reason for the Tories to go, their self-interested Brexit bungling would be reason enough. So, I have a simple message to the Cabinet: for Britain’s sake pull yourself together or make way.”
Mr Corbyn will say how Grenfell Tower has become a tragic monument to a “degraded regime,” characterised by a disregard for rampant inequality, the hollowing out of public services and the disdain for the powerless and the poor. This, he will argue, has made British society more brutal and less caring.
“Grenfell is not just the result of bad political decisions, it stands for a failed and broken system, which Labour must and will replace,” he will declare.
The Labour leader will also talk about the need urgently to face the challenge of automation, noting how robotics could make so much of contemporary work redundant.
He will argue that if the change ahead is planned and managed properly, “accelerated technological change can be the gateway for a new settlement between work and leisure, a springboard for expanded creativity and culture, making technology our servant and not our master at long last”.
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